Stock supported peashooter



Feb. 8, 1 949. R. DALLY y v STOCK kSUPPORTED PEASHOOTER f Filed Feb. l,1946 Zw@ 4 s" ww/ 1,. s"

N Y.` w"

Patented Feb. 8, 1949 STOCK SUPPORTED PEASHOOTER Roy Dally, Racine,Wis., assignor to 'Robert H. Wendt, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 1, 1946, Serial No. 644,898

2 Claims.

The 4present invention relates to toy guns, and is particularlyconcerned With toy guns of the type which are adapted to :be used forimpelling small missiles, such as, for example, peas or darts orpellets, by means oi air pressure created Iby the mouth of the operator.

One of the objects of the invention is the pro#- vision yof an improvedtoy gun which simulates the appearance of a standar-d'type of militaryand which may lbe used for shooting peas or other small missilesdirectly from the mouth of the shooter.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved toy gunof the class described adapted to be used for shooting l.peas or othersmall missiles in ywhich the gun barrel has a relatively straightportion which is connected with a stock in such manner that the gun canbe aimed, and which also hasl a laterally bent, relatively stii portionat its lrear end which is located to be received in the mouth of theshooter when the stock is applied to the shoulder and the gun.

is in position for sighting along the, straight part of the barrel.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun of theclass described in which the barrel is of an improved construction,adapted to hold itself in the proper position for engagement with themouth -oi the shooter While he is aiming the gun, :but also in which therear portion of the barrel may have its adjustment changed by theapplication of heat or by the rotation of the barrel on the stock.

Another object of the inventionis the provision of an improved toy gunvconstruction in which the structure of the gun is Such that smallmissiles,such as peas, may be imfpelled with considerable force and withan increased accuracy over the guns of the prior art.

Another object of the invention is the 4provision of an improved toy gunmechanism having a stock and a barrel in which the latter is so ai'-ranged that it may be used for shooting peas directly from the mouthofthe shooter.

Another object of the invention isthe provision of an improved toy gunconstruction which is simple, adapted to'be manufactured at a low c-ost,.easy 'to assemble, sturdy, which utilizes a minimum number of parts anda minimum amount of material, and which may .be used for a long periodof time without the necessity for repair 'or replacement of any of itsparts.

Referring to the single sheet of drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a toy gun embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view; wjFig. 3 is a sectional View taken on theplane.

2 of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the trigger mechanisman-d taken on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view, similar to Fig. 5, showing the trigger inanother position.

The gun is preferably provided with a wooden stock simulating one ofvthe military guns used 'by the armed forces of the United States, suchas, for example, the Springfield riile. The stock I0 has a rear shoulderengaging portion II and a barrel supporting portion I2.

The barrel supporting portion may be of sub`- stantially rectangularshape in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 4, being provided withrelatively flat sides I3, I4 and a flat lbotto-In I5, While the top I6is also'relatively flat, but provided with a partially cylindricalgroove Il. The flat surfaces are joined by generously rounded cornersI8, and the shoulder engaging portion Il eX- tends downwardly from thebarrel supporting portion I2 at the Ylocation of the breech I9.

Rearwardly of the point I9, Where the barrel emerges, the stock ispreferably cut out at 9 to provide a generous space for the cheek of theoperator when he brings his eye into position to aim.

An apertured metal clip 20 may be provided on the lower portion of thebarrel supporting part I2 of the stock and also on the lower part of theshoulder engaging portion II at 2l, these clips being joined by a strap22 of webbing which is nailed to the stock under the clip 2l, buthas aloop 23 passing through an aperture in the clip 20 at 24` and providedwith an adjustable sliding buckle 25 soY that the length of the strap 22may be adjusted.

At each of its sides I3, I4 the straight portion of the stock ispreferably provided with a nger groove 32 comprising a shallow,partially cylindrical groove for eng-agement with the ngers of the handwhich holds the stock at this point.

Above the grooves 32 the stock In may be made relatively deeper, therebysimulating the appearance of the commercial firearm, and at a suitablepoint 33 on the straight portion of the stock there may be a transverseshoulder 33 so that a metal part 34 may be added which simulates thebreech of the commercial gun. The metal part 34 may consist of a sheetmetal member of the shape shown in Fig. 3. This sheet metal member has apair of attaching flanges 35, 36 which are apertured to pass the nails31 by means of which these 3 flanges are nailed to the flatuppersurfaces 38 of the stock. f

The attaching anges 35, 35 are integrally joined to a barrel portion 39which is partially cylindrical and preferably extends over slightly morethan 180 degrees of afcircle, and which simulates a larger breechportion for `the barrel. This breech member .'54 extends from the pointI9 to the shoulder 33 over the groove l'l, thus communicating with thegroove in the wider portion of the stock which extends forwardly fromthe shoulder 33.

In order to simulate a part of the Vbreech where shells are inserted,the flange 35 and a part of the cylindrical portion 3S may be slotted at45, 4|, and the metal between the slots 4d, @l may be rolled up to forma substantially cylindrical tube 43 integrally attached to the member34, but located at the middle of the top of the cylindrical barrelportion 3s to act as a rear sight.

The barrel 2S of the gun may consist of an elongated tube of suitablethermo-plastic mau terial, such as blacic cellulose acetate, which has acylindrical bore 2'! passing through the tube, and which is providedwith relatively smooth, polished sides, inside and out.

On the'outside, this tube simulates a metal gun barrel, beingV black andshiny; yet it is relatively light and inexpensive, and on the inside thetube is adapted to facilitate the ejection of missiles, such as peas,darts or pellets, because of its smooth, shiny; nonfrictioncharacteristic. Such a, tube may be made with relatively thick Y walls,thereby simulating the external appearance of a rifle barrel, whilestill having a relatively small bore Whichis of a size suitable for peasor the pellets or darts with which it is to be used.

The barrel 25 is preferably long enough to extend from the breech I9past the forward end 28 of the stock., by an amount which is similar tothe projection of the ride barrel beyond the stock in the firearm whichis being simulated.

The barrel 26 comprises a straight portion eX- tending from the muzzleend 25 back to the breech I9, but extending backwardly from the breechthe tube 25 is bent laterally at the breech and Vextends diagonallyrearward and downward. The amount ofV bend at 30, or.V the direction ofbend, may be adjusted at any time by the application of heat to thetube, so that the barrel may Vhave its rear end Si located to engage themouth of the shooter when `he is'airning with the gun in the samemanneras hewould aim with the firearm which the gun simulates. Furthermore,the barrel 25 may be adjusted longitudinally of the stock, as will bepresently described, to adjust the mouthpiece end 3l to the mouth of theuser.

The breech member 34, with its cylindrical portion 39 vover the grooveIl, forms a cylindrical bore at the point 9- of greater size thanthebarrel tube Z5,4 and, therefore, the barrel 26 is provided with anannularwooden or iibre member 44 which its in this bore, having asliding fit.

The annular member lili may be tapered, if desired, and may be made ofvarious materials, such as wood, cork, a thermoplastic material, etc.,and is preferably frictionally held in place, but can be movedlongitudinally of the barrel 25 by sliding it on the barrel.

When theY annular member :te is pushed into the breech at the point i9it holds the barrel 25 4 groove l'l may be made of a size suitable toengage the barrel 25.

Adjacent the front end 2S ci the stock, the stock is preferably providedwith a combined barrei holding member and bead @#5, the structure ofwhich is shown in Fig. 4. This bead consists of a strip of sheet metalbent back upon itself at the point 45 and having an upper flat portion4l which is carried by a pair of laterally extending legs 48, 49.

The legs 48, is engage and embrace the barrel 26 and hold it in thegroove Il, and each leg may be secured to the wooden stock by means of ascrew or nail 5E! passing through an aperture in each leg 48, 49 andengaged the stock i5. This provides the barrel with a sight adjacent itsmuzzle end, and also holds the barrel in the groove inthe stock at thatend.

rllhe gun is also preferably provided with a snapping mechanism actuatedor controlled by the trigger 5E, and for this purpose the stock may beprovided with a groove 52 on its lower side eX- tending in bothdirections from the breech and adapted to house the snapping mechanism.

The snapping mechanism may consist of the trigger a tension spring 53, aresilient member 54, and an anvil or stop 55. The trigger merelycomprises a sheet metal member having a i'iat body 56 and a downwardlyprojecting iinger-engaging portion 51, the front edge 58 of which isconcavely curved like any trigger.

The body 55 is pivoted in the slot 52 by a transverse nail 59 extendingfrom one side of the concentrically with respect to the rear end of thegroove Il, but at the front end of the stock the stock across the groove52 into the other side of the stock. The nail 59 passes through a slot1U in the two walls 56 of the trigger, which may be f Vposition by thecoil spring 53, which is under initial tension in Fig. 5, and'which hasits lower end hooked in an aperture 6D in the trigger 5I and its upperend hooked over a nail or pin 6I, which is located longitudinally of thegroove l1.

The spring 53 is thus located in a cylindrical bore 52, which extendsfrom the slot 52 to the groove l1; and this spring urges the trigger tothe forward position. A nail 63 is driven transversely of the stockacross the groove 52 to enm gage the upper edge 64 of the trigger 5I tolimit the counter-clockwise pivoting motion of the trigger in Fig. 5.

At its rearward corner the trigger 5I is provided with a relativelysharp, beveled corner 65, which is so located with respect to theresilient member 54 that the corner 55 initially engages the resilientmember 54 and moves it toward the left to the dotted position of Fig. 5.Then the trigger corner passes the resilient member 54 to permit thelatter to snap back to the full line position of Fig. 5. This snap-backof the resilient member 54 causes it to engage the stop 55, which is inthe form of a substantial pin or nail which acts as an anvil forengagement by the resilient member 54 to make the snapping sound whichsimulates the crack of a rifle.

The beveled surface 1| engages the end of the resilient member 54,forcing the trigger 5l forward, which movement is permitted by the slot'i9 surrounding the pin y59,until the trigger corner 65 again reachesthe full line position of Fig. 5.

The pin or nail 63 also assists in bringing the trigger back to thisposition because it engages a curved camming surface 'l2 on the trigger.Pulling the trigger into the slot 52 tends to cam the trigger backwarduntil the pivot 5!! is in the upper end of the slot lll. The cam surface12 passes the pin 63 at such time as will permit the trigger body tomove forward and snap ofi the end of the resilient member 54.

The resilient member timay consist of a thin strip of wood having tough,resilient characteristics; and this strip is supported in the groove 52against the flat surface 6% by another transverse pinyor nail B1.

`The dat surface Sie in the groove 52 is so located that it places aninitial ten-sion n the re silient member 4, which is thus forced againstthe stop or anvil 5.5. 'I he pin 6l is just far enougliaway from theflat-surface 55 to permit the tapered end 58 of the resilient member 54to be forced in between the pin E1 and the flat surface 65. The lengthor the resilient strip 54 is such that it is forced upto the dotted lineposition of Fig. 5 'by the trigger, but is there released to snap backagainst the pin 55.

The combination of the snapping mehrlism with the pellet-dischargingbarrel is very important from the point of view of appeal to thechildren who use the toy, as this gives it a marked degree of realism,since one can hear the gun discharged at the same time the pellet isblown f from the gun.

The operation of my toy gun is as follow-s: The barrel of celluloseacetate may be black, and therefore looks very much like a polishedsteel barrel; and it may be of suitable size externally for a barrel,while the inside is of suitable size for pellets provided, such as peas.

The laterally turned end portion 3i! can be adjusted so that it is inposition to be placed in the mouth of the user whenever the gun is putto the right shoulder in position for the user to aim through the sightd3 with the bead 46 in align-v ment with the target.

Since the barrel is held frictionally by the member llt, the laterallyturned end may be turned round toward the right side for a left 'handeduser, and this is a marked advantage because these guns are passedaround from child to child, and one may be right handed and the otherleft handed, especially in the control and aiming oi a gun. Evenchildren who vare right handed for other things may find it desirable toaim left handed, depending upon which eye seems most adapted for thatfunction.

With a supply of peas in the mouth and the gun brought up to theshoulder in aiming position, the user may pla-ce his finger on thetrigger 5l' and his mouth on the end 3|, and the tongue or the user maybring a pea or pellet into position to pass into the opening 3|, where aslight pun of air from the lungs will cau-se the pellet to be dischargedfrom the muzzle 29 with considerable force and accuracy.

.At the same time the pull is given, the trigger 5l is pulled; the guncracks like a riiile, and the pellet or pea is discharged like a bulletor other missile, and may be driven for a lconsiderable distance, due tothe length and smoothness of the interior of the barrel. The smoothfinish of the barrel reduces frictionto a minimum,'while Aits lengthpermits the propelling forcer of the air from the lungs to build up sothat ordinary-peas may be propelled distances of thirty t0 forty feetwith great accuracy.

It will thus be observed that I have invented an improved toy gunby-means of which the user may propel small missiles, such as'peasor-pellets, the former being cheaper, and by means of which he may alsoemit the crack of a rilie simultaneously with the discharge of themissile.

The present pea shooter has a marked appeal for boys, and because of itssturdy and simple construction can be used for a long period of timewithout likelihood of damage of any of its parts. The barrel is morelikely to bend than to break, and may have its rear end so shaped as toaccommodate any user by merely applying heat with hot water While it isbent. l y

The mouthpiece is arranged to cooperate with the mouth of a right handedor a left handed user, and a change may be made in a moment by anychild.` The trigger snap mechanism is simple and effective and is notapt to get out or order, and it produces a report which is very similarto that of a rie.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes withinthe scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. In a toy gun, the combination of an elongated stock provided with ashoulder-engaging portion and with an upper groove for receiving abarrel, with a barrel member of heat deformable plastic material in saidgroove, and comprising a member having a laterally turned end portionand provided with a bore extending through the full length of the barrelfor passing a missile from the mouth of the user through the barrel whenthe stock is held to the shoulder and the end of thebarrel is held tothe mouth, the stock supporting a partially cylindrical upper member atthe rear end of said groove forming a bore which is enlargedrelative tothe size of said groove, and said barrel being` surrounded by an annularplug having a frictional rit in the bore formed by said upper member andsaid groove, the barrel being frictionally held by the plug and thebarrel being rotatably adjustable relative to the stock to turn the bentend of the barrel to the left or right for it-handed or right-handedusers, or to elevate or lower the rear end of the barrel into properposition for engagement with the mouths of users of various sizes.

2. In a toy gun, the combination of an elongated nonmetallic stock,provided with a shoulderengaging portion and a forward barrel-supportingportion, said stock having a depression rearwardly of the barrel-holdingportion on its upper side, for receiving a portion of the head of theuser, said barrel-supporting portion being provided on its upper sidewith an elongated partially cylindrical groove, and a barrel in saidgroove, said barrel comprising an elongated tubular member or heatdeformable plastic material, colored and finished in imitation of ametal barrel, said barrel Ahaving a smooth through bore of a sizeadapted to pass missiles of substantially pea size, and having anexternal diameter substantially equivalent to that of a gun barrel,said'groove having a substantial fit with the barrel member at themuzzle end of the stock and the muzzle end of the barrel projectingbeyond the end of the stock, a strap passing over the barrel adjacentthe muzzle end of the stock and secured to the stock to hold the saidbarrel in said groove, the rear end of said groove being enlargedrelative to the front end of said groove to receive frictionally anannular plug, a partially cylindrical member carried by the stock overthe enlarged portion of said groove and forming' a bore for receivingsaid plug, an annular plug carried by the barrel and located in saidbore, said plug having a bore receving and engaging said barrel, thebarrel being held in adjusted position when the plug isV forced.

into said first-mentioned bore, Vthe said barrel being laterally bent atits rear end and extending beyond said plug rearwardly and laterally ofsaid stock, the barrel being frictionally held by the plug for rotatableadjustment relative to the stock to turn the bent end of the barrel tothe left 0r right for left-handed or right-handed users, or to elevateor lower the rear end of the barrel or to permit the barrel member to beslid forwardly or 8 backwardly relative to the plug and stock to bringit into proper position for engagement with the mouth of the user whenthe eye of the user is in position to sight along the straight part ofthe barrel which is mounted in said groove.

ROY DALLY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 239,633 Alex Apr. 5, 1881 830,121Warren Sept. 4, 1906 1,290,050 Bay et al Jan. '7, 1919 1,531,454 ParkerMar. 31, 1925 1,532,669 Bartexki Apr, 7, 1925 1,545,465 Johnstone et alJuly 7, 1925 2,002,324 Lefever May 21, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 1,450 Great Britain 1887

